Travel Scene Educational tours

The MSA Group of Companies, which offers tutorials and reviews, and publishes reviewer books, recently launched MSA Educational Tours and Travel (MSA-ETT). Through this new venture, MSA brings people to different places around the country and the world via its educational tours and travel programs, which aim to educate participants about the history, culture and lifestyle of different countries.

The program, which also includes giving participants a chance to study advance courses and attend training and seminars here and overseas, also aims to promote the value of education as a stepping stone to personal development, career advancement and financial stability.

As a travel agency, MSA -ETT offers international and domestic tours including itinerary planning and travel consultation, international and domestic airline processing and ticketing. It also extends support services such as documentation, passport processing, visa assistance, travel insurance and handling of immigration requirements and other travel related documents.

The agency is a member of NITAS (Network of Independent Travel Agencies) and the Philippine Travel Cooperative. It is also working to become an affiliate of international associations such as the Philippine Travel Agency Association and the Philippine Conventions and Visitors Association, among others. It is linked with the Philippine Airlines Computerized Reservation System and ABACUS, a world-class computerized reservations system.

For inquiries and information about MSA-ETT, call 434-3693 or 925-7544.

Pilgrimage packages

auseway Tours invites travelers to a pilgrimage to the Our Lady of Piat in Cagayan Valley and the Our Lady Peñafrancia in Bicol.

The three-day pilgrimage to Our Lady of Piat, scheduled on Sept. 7-9, includes a tour of Cagayan Valley’s top tourist attractions. Places to be visited are the Calvary Hill in Iguig, Callao Cave in Penablanca, Tumauini and San Pablo in Isabela and in Tuguregarao City.

Meanwhile, set on Sept. 14-16 is the tour of the Bicol region, highlighted by the feast of Our Lady of Peñafrancia. See some of Bicol’s pride including the world-famous Mayon Volcano, and the interesting towns of Buhi, Albay, Naga, and Sorsogon.

For further details call tel. nos. 853-8652 or 853-8728.

Singapore arts fest

Singapore’ annual “For Art’s Sake!” returns in September with a full agenda of music and dance, theater, visual arts and cultural events.

Leading this year’s international line up is Miss Saigon, Cameron Mackintosh’s successful stage musical, now playing at the Kallang Theatre until Sept. 30.

Equally exciting is Singapore’s first ever exhibition of the world renowned Fabulous Fabergé collection of rare and priceless Imperial Easter Eggs.

Meanwhile, ARTSingapore, one of the world’s most prestigious contemporary Asian art fairs, will feature works from England, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, Korea and Singapore. It will go on show from Sept. 29 to Oct. 3 at the Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre (SICEC).

Kevin Leong, Singapore Tourism Board’s director for events marketing, said: “Over the last two years, ‘For Art’s Sake!’ has helped to establish Singapore as a global city of the arts. This year we expect even greater success, given the strong line up of events.”

Supported by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), “For Art’s Sake!” is now into its third year.

Mastercard and The Singapore Visitors Card are issuing special visitor cards designed to build attendance from overseas markets to the event. The Visitor Card is issued to those tourists who buy arts packages to Singapore from travel agencies in their home countries.

“For Art’s Sake!” has its own website. Visitors who visit the site at www.forartsake.com, stand to win palm tops, book and cash vouchers.

ASEAN Hotel and Air Pass

Travelers to South East Asian countries can now easily visit more than one destination and enjoy the rich cultures and attractions that each country has to offer using the ASEAN Air and Hotel Pass.

Recently, ASENTA has launched the Hotel Pass to complement the Air Pass, which was introduced three years ago to promote ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) as a single destination.

Both the ASEAN Air Pass and Hotel Pass are valid for sale until Dec. 31 from any of the participating ASEAN airline offices and authorized travel agents outside ASEAN countries.

The Air Pass, which covers 29 ASEAN cities, must be issued in conjunction with an international air ticket by any of the following participating airlines: Royal Brunei Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, Malaysia Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Singapore Airlines, SilkAir, Thai Airways International and Vietnam Airlines. It is priced at US$109 per flight coupon (per sector) for travel on economy class.

Meanwhile, the Hotel Pass must be purchased in conjunction with the Air Pass. Thirty-four participating international class hotels in Bandar Seri Begawan, Jakarta, Bali, Manila, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok are in this program. The Hotel Pass is priced at US$75 per single/double room per night (includes tax service charge) for a maximum stay of seven nights per hotel.

Leaflets on the Air and Hotel Pass have been printed and distributed to participating ASEAN airlines and NTOs to inform the traveling public in the long-haul markets about this program. For more information visit www.aseanta.org.

Jurong Bird Park promo

All Singapore Airlines’ Young Explorer Club (YEC) members who visit the famed Jurong Bird Park in Singapore between Sept. 1 and Dec. 31 are offered a 25 discount on admission charges.

Home to more than 8,000 birds of 600 species, the 20-hectare Jurong Bird Park is a hillside haven for nature lovers. It is one of the largest bird parks in the world with the largest walk-in aviary.

Singapore Airlines files to Singapore three times daily. Kids on-board can amuse themselves with KrisWorld, the airline’s state-of-the-art in-flight entertainment system, as well as sample a wide variety of World Gourmet Cuisine.

This great deal from Jurong Bird Park is just one of the many perks and privileges offered by KrisFlyer, SIA’s frequent flyer program. Children ages three to 12 years old who enroll in KrisFlyer automatically become members of YEC.

For details, log onto www.krisflyer.com.